Everything Old is New Again
by Hawki
Summary: Oneshot: With both Nod and tiberium removed from the Earth, what exactly was GDI's mandate?


**Everything Old is New Again**

 _So am I technically in space?_

It was hard for Wesley Riggs to say. People tended to think of the atmosphere as being like an egg shell – it surrounded the yolk, stopped dead in its tracks, and beyond it was the vacuum of space. In reality, the atmosphere extended for thousands of kilometres, steadily growing thinner before eventually petering out. Up here, he knew that if a hatch in the GST _Granger_ opened, he would be sucked out, and even if gravity didn't do its work, he'd suffocate. But potentially, he was still in the atmosphere of planet Earth.

The planet that was below him. The planet that he looked at through a wall of plexiglass in the corridor that led to the briefing room. From here, it didn't look all that appealing. He'd seen pictures of what Earth had used to look like before the coming of tiberium – a world of greens, blues, and browns, surrounded by white clouds. Over the course of the 21st century, the amount of brown had been extended, the amount of blue diminished, and the green had turned a different shade. Now, in the year 2083, six years after the activation of the Tiberium Control Network, the world was basically just blue and brown. The TCN could remove tiberium from the world. That didn't mean it could re-vegetate it.

"General?"

He wasn't sure what was going to happen to Earth now, in the last years of the 21st century and the century beyond. The environment and civil unrest had been issues even before 1995. There was no reason to think why they wouldn't be now.

"General, they're waiting for you."

Course, he'd soon be dead and buried, and what happened to Earth would be in the hands of the next generation.

"General?"

He turned to look at the aide. "Thank you."

He followed her into the briefing room. Briefing Room B, to be exact. Briefing Room A was intended for the _Granger_ 's pilot wing. Briefing Room B was meant as a meeting point between commanders – the round table where unlike the myth of King Arthur, someone was definitely in charge, and not everyone was equal. Walking inside the room, he wondered that if the analogy held, who would he be? General Fitzroy might be Arthur, and General Palermo might be Morgana, but if so, that made him…Lancelot?

"Have a seat, General."

 _Galahad?_

He took the seat opposite them regardless. The able was in a circle, but Fitzroy and Palermo were on opposite sides of it.

"Thank you for coming up here," Fitzroy said. "How was the trip?"

"Long. Cold."

"Cold?"

"Heating system was on the fritz."

"Hmm. Well, don't worry about it. Warm enough here, right?"

Riggs nodded. He'd led Fitzroy do the small talk, while Palermo remained quiet. He had no idea why he was here, especially since he planned to retire within the next few years.

"So, I suppose you're wondering why you're here?" Fitzroy said.

He nodded.

 _Why are you here?_

It wasn't as if after the Fourth Tiberium War that GDI had been made defunct, but at times, it damn well felt like it. After the Battle of Threshold, there were fears that Nod splinter cells would be an issue, but that hadn't manifested. The Brotherhood had followed their prophet, and if any had been left behind (or still followed Gideon), they were staying off GDI's radar. The Forgotten and bandits were still an issue, but as tiberium receded, they were forced to either come back to civilization, or in the case of the Forgotten, retreat even further from it. There were already rumblings of scaling back GDI funding and returning more power to the hands of the people – Nod was gone. Tiberium was receding. What exactly was there for GDI to "defend" against?

"Well," Fitzroy said. He took out a small remote and pressed a switch on it. "Let me show you."

Riggs still remained silent. Samuel Fitzroy was a war hawk. He'd been one for decades, ever since GDI and Nod began pooling their resources to save the planet. Granted, he'd toed the line when Colonel James launched her crusade against Kane, when Rios had given the order for the military to stand down, but Riggs had possessed no doubt that Fitzroy would have loved to cross it, and may well have if the conflict had dragged on for longer.

But that was then, this was now. A now, where holograms appeared in the centre of the desk. It didn't take Riggs long to recognise them as video recordings of the First, Second, and Third Tiberium Wars. The images kept cycling, the key variant always being the level of technology on display. The key constant was the conflict itself, and the sight of GDI forces hammering Nod. Or, in the case of the Third Tiberium War, hammering the scrin.

 _Or being hammered back._ Riggs noted that the footage included footage of the scrin's war machines – on the ground, in the air, and in space. That, and the damage those war machines could do.

"History," Fitzroy said. "Not my favourite subject, but he who controls the past commands the future."

"And he who commands the future conquers the past." Riggs couldn't help but smirk. "Didn't think you read the words of Kane."

"I haven't," Fitzroy said, looking affronted that Riggs had suggested such a thing. "But we've had over a decade of cultural osmosis." He got to his feet and began pacing around the room. "Course, that bastard's gone now…"

"And that's a bad thing?"

Fitzroy chuckled. "Kane being gone? No." He stopped and looked at Riggs. "Kane being alive? Yes."

"We don't know if he's alive."

"That bastard survived two ion cannon strikes, being impaled once, being shot once, and God knows what else. If he disappeared into the scrin tower and took his acolytes with him, then God help me, he's probably alive." He made a kicking motion, as if to kick an invisible beer can. "Course, God isn't going to help me, because if God was real, there'd be a better sense of justice in the world."

"Or he is real, and this is justice?"

Fitzroy smirked. "Theology." He came and sat down at the desk. "A fascinating subject on its own, considering that Vatican City, Mecca, and Jerusalem are all rubble now, and religion has to account for the existence of extra-terrestrial life."

"They've had over three decades to do that," Riggs murmured.

"Indeed, which is why we're going to get away from theology and back to why we're actually here." Fitzroy paused. "I haven't told you why you're here, have I?"

"No." Riggs glanced at Palermo, who'd remained silent the entire time, before meeting Fitzroy's gaze again. "You haven't."

"Indeed." He leant back in his chair. "What did you see Riggs? In that hologram?"

"…tanks? Planes? Infantry?" He glanced at Palermo again, who was remaining as silent as the Lady of the Lake. "Is this relevant?"

"Tanks, planes, infantry." Fitzroy leant forward. "All working in tandem as part of a combined arms force. The way it used to be."

"The way it _used_ to be?"

"Come on Riggs, pay attention. You think I left out war footage from the Fourth Tiberium War for a reason?"

"I…I just assumed-"

"Attack, Defence, Support," Fitzroy said. He got to his feet and began pacing again, even faster than last time. "Our current approach to war, to better deal with protecting the TCN against Noddies and mutants." He glanced at Riggs. "And fair enough, it worked. But you know I objected to it Riggs. So did many other commanders. The idea of fragmenting our forces to separate branches operating completely independently, but simultaneously in tandem…"

Riggs shrugged. "I guess I heard-"

"Eighty percent."

He looked at Palermo.

"Eighty percent," she parroted. "That's the percentage of battle commanders who objected to the ADS method."

 _So you do talk._ He looked at Fitzroy again. "General, this is all well and good, but battle commanders have to fight with the tools given. And given that the TCN isn't under threat anymore-"

"Exactly, Riggs, exactly." He sat down again and leant forward. "Which is why, when I propose that GDI goes back to the combined arms system, you lend your support."

Riggs stared at him, unable to talk.

"Well?" Fitzroy asked.

Riggs was still unable to talk. This…this was it? His darkest thoughts had imagined some kind of coup, just like James had attempted. His brightest thoughts involved some kind of final hurrah before retirement. This…this was so far out of left field he wasn't playing football anymore.

"You need my support?" he asked.

He supposed he should say something.

"But why?"

"Why?" Fitzroy said. "Because you're a veteran of three Tiberium Wars. Because you've seen firsthand what a combined arms system of warfare can achieve, and what the ADS system can't."

"And what can't it do?" Riggs asked.

Palermo slid him some documents across the table. "Lots of things. Deal with protracted conflict for starters."

Riggs took them and began reading.

 _The scrin?_

"The ADS system is designed around low intensity, rapid response warfare. It's a method of warfare that doesn't match full scale war."

He kept reading the documents – all of them dealt with the subject of a projected war with the scrin. The notes made it clear that in such a conflict, the ADS would fare poorly.

"Bearing in mind that the scrin we faced in forty-seven were projected to be a mining force and-"

"The scrin," Riggs said, putting the documents down. "You're planning for war with the scrin."

"Yes," Fitzroy said.

Now it was Riggs's turn to get to his feet and begin pacing around.

"Come on Wesley, think about it," Fitzroy said. "The bastards invade in forty-seven, and again in fifty-eight. You think that they can't count to three?"

"Fitzroy, the scrin-"

"Riggs, we don't know whether the scrin we've faced up to this point are indicative of their current level of technology." He got to his feet again and walked over. "You might infer the scrin that RAID faced in fifty-eight were indicative, but that was over so quickly, no-one can make any guesses. They possess the technology to travel to Earth, so who's to say they're not doing that now?"

"And you think reorganizing the organization of GDI is the best way to do it?"

"Yes." Fitzroy glanced at Palermo. "And…other reasons."

 _You son of a bitch._ Riggs looked away from him. _You're actually doing it._

"Wesley-"

"GDI needs a mandate." Now it was Palermo's turn to speak. "Our initial mandate was to contain the Brotherhood of Nod."

In truth, GDI had started out as a black ops group under the UN, but Riggs wasn't about to let a bit of revisionist history get in the way of Palermo's pitch.

"When tiberium began consuming Earth, our mandate shifted to governance as well as protection."

"And now?" Riggs asked. "GDI's without both."

"Yes," she said. "Nod's gone. Tiberium's gone. The scrin, barring some unforeseen catastrophe, haven't."

"And you'd use them as the reason to re-organize GDI and keep it in power."

"You would have it another way?" Palermo asked. "We've governed the world for over half a century, and kept humanity safe while doing it. Would you have us go back to the days of nation states?"

Riggs didn't say anything.

"GDI is what's best for the world," Palermo said. "People are already forgetting that. We need to remind them why GDI was formed, and that the threat to humanity isn't gone."

"Which is where you come in," said Fitzroy. "You've fought Nod, the scrin, and even GDI…dissidents." The look on his face and tone in his voice told Riggs that he hardly considered James and her ilk anything of the sort. "No-one wants the ADS, so there is that. You defend the old school, and in doing so, you help us pave the way to the future."

"And how many 'us' are there Fitzroy?"

"Not that many. Or at least, not too many with the status as yourself." He sighed. "McNeil? Dead. Solomon? Cortez? Dead. Granger? Dead. "

"If you're going to list every great GDI general of the past century, we're going to be here until the next one."

"My point exactly," Fitzroy exclaimed, clicking his fingers. "So many, but none left. None but yourself, Riggs. No-one but you." He smiled. "You should be flattered Riggs. Especially when some question you…not helping James out."

He frowned.

"Of course, I would never be among them."

"Nor I," Palermo said.

Riggs sat down, rubbing his head. He knew Fitzroy was a poor liar. He didn't know that General Palermo, the head of GDI InOps, would be one as well.

"You don't need to decide anything now," said Fitzroy, taking his seat as well. "All great movements take time."

"But time isn't on our side," Palermo added, taking her seat as well. "Every day, people yell for GDI to give up more control of the government."

"And we can't have that."

"Not at all."

"It would be a disaster."

"And the ADS is still terrible."

"We need to get back to the old way of doing things before-"

"Stop!" Riggs held up a hand. "Just…stop. I…" He swallowed. "For Christ sake's, I was going to retire."

"And? You still get to retire. You just have to endorse my…I mean our, propositions."

"And if I don't?"

Riggs saw Fitzroy's smile quiver. "Then I respect your decision, and wish you all the best. But if that is your decision, then I'm afraid we have nothing to discuss."

"I…I haven't made a decision. I just need…time."

"And you'll have it." Fitzroy's smiled returned, even if it was of the serpent. "Just don't take too long."

He got to his feet. So did Palermo. Finally, so did Riggs.

"I'll show you to your quarters," Palermo said.

He nodded.

"Stay in touch Wesley," Fitzroy called out as the pair exited the briefing room.

Riggs didn't say anything.

He walked out of the room in silence.

* * *

 _A/N_

 _The idea for this came after hearing that EA is considering remastering the old_ Command & Conquer _games (along with_ Dune _). To be honest, I'm actually quite apathetic about it. I mean, keep the games compatible with current PC systems, but I'm more interested in new installments than remasters._

 _But on the other hand, where would new installments in the_ Tiberium _setting actually go? I mean, technically you could have games set post-_ Tiberian Twilight _, but with tiberium and Nod gone from Earth, you're without two of the three original staples of the setting. There's the scrin, sure, and we've got that threat from the end of_ Tiberium Wars _dangling over us, but if they didn't show up in_ Tiberian Twilight _, it would be off to have them show up without any tiberium to harvest. As you can tell, I'm treating the events of_ Tiberium _as canon, which has always been my de facto policy (even if it's a stretch to do so), but because I feel it's the only way the story can get closure (even if it is headcanon). And all that aside, a fifth main entry in the_ Tiberium _setting would either need to refine the gameplay of_ Tiberian Twilight, _or find in-universe justification for abandoning the ADS system. Said it before and I'll say it again, I wouldn't mind a fourth CnC setting, because I feel the_ Tiberium _one is kind of played out._

 _But anyway, drabbled this up._


End file.
